Difference between revisions of "Expressing the self-evident with "ma""
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The particle 嘛 (ma) is a sentence-final particle identical in pronunciation to the simple [[Yes - no questions with ma|"yes/no question" particle 吗 (ma)]] you learned back in the day, but with a rather different function. It can be used when the speaker feels what he is saying is obvious (from his point of view).
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The particle 嘛 (ma) is a sentence-final particle identical in pronunciation to the simple [[Yes - no questions with ma|"yes/no question" particle 吗 (ma)]] you learned back in the day, but with a rather different function. It can be used when the speaker feels what he is saying is obvious (from his point of view).
  
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== Used for Sentence-Final ==
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== Structure ==
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=== Structure ===
 
  
 
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=== Examples ===
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== Examples ==
  
 
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== Used for Topic-Marking==  
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== See  also ==
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===Structure ===
 
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Topic + 嘛 ，Statement
 
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This basically allows the speaker to state the topic, then gather his thoughts before making a comment on it. In this pattern, the following comment may or may not be one the speaker feels is obvious.
 
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=== Examples ===
 
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*大 熊猫<em>嘛</em> ，大家 都 喜欢 。<span class="pinyin">Dà xióngmāo <em>ma</em>, dàjiā dōu xǐhuan.</span><span class="trans">Pandas. Everybody likes them.</span>
 
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*名牌 <em>嘛</em> ，一定 不 便宜 。<span class="pinyin">Míngpái <em>ma</em>, yīdìng bù piányi.</span><span class="trans">Brandname. It can't be cheap.</span>
 
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*第 一 次 <em>嘛</em> ，以后 就 会 了 。<span class="pinyin">Dì-yī cì <em>ma</em>, yǐhòu jiù huì le.</span><span class="trans">First time. You'll learn soon.</span>
 
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*孩子 <em>嘛</em> ，不 懂 这些 很 正常 。<span class="pinyin">Háizi <em>ma</em>, bù dǒng zhèxiē hěn zhèngcháng.</span><span class="trans">Kids. It's common that they don't understand these things .</span>
 
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*我 请客 <em>嘛</em> ，当然 要 大方 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ qǐngkè <em>ma</em>, dāngrán yào dàfang.</span><span class="trans">I'm buying. Of course I need to be generous.</span>
 
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==See  also==
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*[[Marking a topic with "ma"]]
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*[[Yes-no questions with "ma"]]
 
  
 
== Sources and further reading ==
 
== Sources and further reading ==

Revision as of 02:14, 18 January 2018

The particle 嘛 (ma) is a sentence-final particle identical in pronunciation to the simple "yes/no question" particle 吗 (ma) you learned back in the day, but with a rather different function. It can be used when the speaker feels what he is saying is obvious (from his point of view).

Structure

Statement + 嘛

Examples

  • 你 妹妹 很 漂亮 嘛 。Nǐ mèimei hěn piàoliang ma.Your sister is pretty.
  • 他 家 挺 有钱 的 嘛 。Tā jiā tǐng yǒuqián de ma.His family is pretty rich.
  • 大家 有 话 就 说 嘛 。Dàjiā yǒu huà jiù shuō ma.Guys, you should say whatever you want to say.
  • 不 想 去 就 不要 去 嘛 。Bù xiǎng qù jiù bùyào qù ma.If you don't wanna go, don't go.
  • 别 担心 ，一边 工作 一边 学 嘛 。Bié dānxīn, yībiān gōngzuò yībiān xué ma.Don't worry. You can learn while you work.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

Websites

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